Where to Eat in Old Québec, Canada

Old Québec has lots to offer between the exquisite food, the walkable town, and how much history it has. In case you were more of a foodie kind of person, here’s a food tour we did while on the trip. It was a dream date, but it can also just be a fun time! It is like the walking version of the tour buses you take in other cities to explore, and food is included!

I wanted to split up all the restaurants we went to in the trip between each Canada related posts just so you are not staring at all the foods we had throughout the trip– which were a lot, but well worth it. I will go by the start of the day, so you have an idea of what there was for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and of course, dessert.

BREAKFAST

Le Lapin Sauté

First thing’s first: make a reservation! I made it on google maps and it was easy to navigate. This place is the hot spot with their outdoor seating, and it is SO cute! There are shops all around and foodie areas, with a patio as well. It is usually decorated per season so you are seeing different kinds of decor throughout the year.

But first, coffee!

We also ordered a plate to share amongst the two of us, which Tyler never likes to do, so I am happy I convinced him to do that. The order was two over-easy eggs, potatoes and rabbit rillettes casserole, bacon, sausages, braised ham, and calumet cheese.

Café Buade

Stopped at a coffee shop, which so happened to be the oldest in the city!!! Located in the heart of the city, this cute coffee/ breakfast spot opened in 1860. Franck Cladis named it the “New World Cafe” in 1919. The family dining spot adopted its new name Café Buade in the early 1960’s because of Governor Frontenac, Louis de Buade.

We had their famous duck poutine, quesadilla, and club sandwich when we went to visit. It is very close to the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral, and a few shops and restaurants in the area.

L’Omelette

Tyler only believes in eating at places with 4.5 stars on google, so here we are. It honestly did not disappoint and we only had half an hour before our meeting to eat. When we arrived, it was pretty packed, but we made it out on time.

We ordered the same thing, because I take too long to decide. So eggs, potato, fruits, sausages, and toast with coffee, of course! I loved the yellow decor amongst the building and the accent colors inside. I mostly loved sitting by the window because we were leveled up higher than the street and we could people watch. Tyler loved the tin signs for decor, but do not give him anymore ideas, please!! We were in and out before you knew we were even there, but all in good health.

LUNCH & DIN DIN

D’Orsay

I know this is unconventional, and something I would usually never do, but it was recommended by the waitress and I had to. I had a poke bowl in this bar-looking place. It was very refreshing for this insanely hot day we had! The bar looked very vintage/ renaissance/ pub-like. The colors and decor threw me off, but we sat on high-tops by the window, so that helped.

And the crème brûlée was divine!!! I have a weird love for hearing the crack of the top coat before biting into the yummy goodness. Am I the only one?!

Chez Jules

SO! Let me tell you a bit about this gem of a place. First off, the servers were so friendly and hilarious to be around. They really showed you a good time with the cuisine the restaurant offered and showing fancy in true comfy fashion- if you know what I mean. Basically, it looks bougie inside of the restaurant, but feels casual on the patio. There was even a gentleman taking notes in his journal right by us. It felt like we were in a movie with this whole scene.

Before I start rambling about what happens in a movie, let’s get back to the actual restaurant!

Tyler and I ordered the escargot (snails) and frog legs. It was my first time having frog legs, and while they were hard to disconnect from the limbs, they were SO tasty! I know, you probably lost your appetite if you’re one of those picky eaters, but they are worth the try. They were devoured… as you can see in the photo next to the actual meal.

Conti

This restaurant was recommended by someone in town. It is next to the fancier version of Conti, but the blue tents separates it a bit. The vibes are also quite different. This Conti feels like a lounge inside and the Conti on the right side is fancy-shmancy. Just depends on what you are looking for. I would also recommend making reservations, because they both fill up quickly.

We were seated at the bar before our window booth was ready. I think I really fell in love with the idea of sitting by the window in this city because there’s so much to experience while you have your meal too. Might sound weird, but just make sure that you at least sit in one window seat while you are in town. It is a whole feeling!

They started off with bread and some crunchy bread sticks. We then ordered our drinks, which were very photogenic, if you ask me! Of course, we ended up with some poutine. I had the risotto and Tyler had lamb chops. I am a sucker for good risotto. Never fails!

We really enjoyed the atmosphere of this restaurant from the lights to the window seating. We absolutely loved it!

Le Bistrot Pape Georges

This was one of the few restaurants that was still open at the late night hours and right downstairs to the town from our hotel. When we arrived, we got the whole drink menu. We did not realize that restaurants close early in regards to food, so we did not eat much when we arrived at such late hour. So empty calories always does the trick! *Please drink responsibly.*

Our waiter gave us some tips and tricks when it came to the tourism at Old Québec. And surprisingly enough, he was only 21 years of age, but looked so much older… *Apologies sir, if you’re reading this.* He knew how to make lots of combos with his bartending skills. Fun fact: the legal drinking age differentiates between 18 and 19 in Canada, depending in the province you live in.

Back to tips; more so tipping structure in Canada: Standard tipping for transportation/ cabs, it’s 10-15%. In a restaurant, it’s like 15-20%. For hairdressers, estheticians, etc, it’s typically 15-18%. In bars it’s more about the dollar amount than a percentage. Canadians follow pretty much the same rules as in the US. However, most Canadians tip around 15% whereas in America, 20% means it was great service. This gives Canadians a reputation as cheap tippers.

Bar Le Sacrilège

Tyler likes to derail from my usual itinerary most of the time, but this trip, I really made an effort to leave time available to do activities he wanted to do or make him plan part of the day. This was one of them. And guess what—

We ended up in NEW Québec!

This was a bit of a walk, across the bridge that separates both the old and new towns. It really felt like new Québec was in a city-center kind of place as if we were back in the states. He said it would only be a few minutes, and boy was he wrong! We walked about 15 minutes in the heat. Lovely…

So imagine being in France, with the nudity everywhere. Here, while they do wear clothing, they do not wear bras. Apologies for the visuals. It is something to laugh about *if you think it is funny,* or also just culture.

We ended up in the “backyard” area and had some beers. It felt like everyone came here for happy hour after work or just to hang out with friends before heading to dinner. They served more bite style foods, so nothing large.

DESSERT

Restaurant Le Petit Château

This is a very popular fondue spot by the hotel we were staying at. I would urge you to make a reservation as well if you know you’ll want to eat here. I made it on the google maps app, if that helps.

So we had a bit of a large meal, but very filling! Here it goes:

Starts with Fondue Au Fromage (cheese fondue), then you have a choice of Classique Beuf (beef fondue), Poulet (chicken), or Bison ou Wapiti ou Cerf (bison or wapiti or stag), and Fondue Au Chocolat (chocolate fondue) or Fondue Au Chocolat en Trio (maple fondue). I bolded the ones we chose. We wanted to eat foods we normally do not get to eat to immerse ourselves with the French Canadian culture.

Enchanthe Vieux

*permanently closed* as of Sept 12, 2022

Just to enlighten you on our experience- it was boba in Québec! We’re huge tea drinkers, so it was a piece of home we never knew we needed to have. The boba parts were a plus!

Café La Maison Smith

You know me with coffee shops back home(s) in Miami and Chicago, I always have to find a new one! They just get me going.

This one in particular, Tyler was excited about the pistachio coffee. I think his excitement overpowered his expectations, because it was not everything he hoped for. While I went for my usual order of getting “what the worker’s favorite coffee is” or “the most popular coffee is” that other people choose.

The inside of the shop is cute and of course, we ended up in the window seat again. HA!

La Fudgerie

Stumbled upon this chocolate shop while on our walk in the Quartier Petit Champlain. If you say chocolate, I say “I’ll be there!” We ended up buying some authentic chocolate, only made in Canada, kind of deals.

Please look at these poop emoji ones. They were my absolute faves!

Au 1884

Everyone needs a quick pick-me-up after a long walk in the sun. This particular ice cream shop was in the middle of the board walk, by our favorite benches to just look at the scenery. Much needed dessert time!

Every time we travel together, it is like we are the only ones that exist. I love it and my handsome, doesn’t-like-photos of a boyfriend. JK fiancé.

But really, Québec City’s food was a dream. I also did a food tour, in case I didn’t already mention that. AND I got you a code if you read this far. This is also not an advertisement, just looking out for you! Download the Trip Advisor app. For a limited time, take 10% off* your next adventure when you book in the app. Use code: APP10. I’m honestly going to add this type of tour to the list of activities to do in all travel spaces.

There has been a lot of talk on where to go to explore the city itself though. I also shared some tips on international travel and some random Québec City facts with my other post.